Tasnim – Yemeni troops continued their fight against Saudi-backed militants in Ma’rib, managing to kill and injure at least 80 mercenaries in the central province, reports said.

Yemeni armed forces inflicted major losses on Saudi-sponsored militants in Ma'rib after they attempted to advance towards Kofel district in Sirwah which is under the control of Ansarullah fighters, Yemeni media reports said.

During the counterattack, more than 80 militants, including several ringleaders, were killed and injured.

Yemeni armed forces have edged closer to liberating Ma’rib after taking control of the neighboring strategic province of al-Jawf, which borders Saudi Arabia.

Yemeni troops seized al-Hazm, the capital city of the neighboring al-Jawf province in early March.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the Saudi war has claimed more than 100,000 lives in Yemen since 2015.

The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are now in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.